9 March 2015
Chad and Niger have intensified the joint military campaign against Boko Haram. Forces from the two states opened a new front in the fight against the Nigerian-based Islamic extremist group amidst growing fears that the conflict, which has been largely restricted to northeast Nigeria and neighbouring borders, could become internationalised. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | Chad and Niger Troops Move to Attack Boko Haram
20 May 2014
On 17 May five West African countries agreed to a plan focusing on enhanced military cooperation and intelligence sharing with the purpose of combating the regional threat from Boko Haram, the extremist group which abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria last month. The meeting was organised by French President Francois Hollande, at the request of Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Johnathan, and was also attended by the heads of state of Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin. Senior American, British and European diplomats were also present. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | West African Nations Set Aside Their Old Suspicions to Combat Boko Haram
31 October 2013
On 22 October, representatives of six countries located in the Congo Bassin, with timber industry representatives and civil society adopted the “Brazzaville Declaration” in which they agreed to jointly combat illegal timber trade in the Congo Basin.
The six states that adopted the Declaration are the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon.
The Congo Basin, covering an area of 300 million hectares, harbours the world’s second largest rainforest after Amazonia. As a key resource for stabilizing the global climate, however, it is also a major supplier of illegal timber. The Brazzaville Declaration aims to implement measures that improve timber tracking, transparency and forest governance.
Source: UN News Centre | African countries consent to tackle illegal timber trade in Congo Basin – UN agency